The Evil Queen
The Queen is the villainess of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the first Disney animated features canon villain. Determined to remain the fairest of all, the Queen becomes insanely jealous of Snow White, the only one whose beauty surpasses her own. She eventually uses her skills in dark magic to transform herself into the Witch, in a final attempt to do away with her only, unknowing rival. Depicted in early designs as a fat, comical character, her appearance eventually evolved into a much more sinister, stately beauty. She is generally considered one of Disney's most iconic and menacing villains, once being voted the 10th greatest movie villain of all time. The Queen was animated by Art Babbit and the Witch by Norman Ferguson. Veteran actress Lucille La Verne voiced both. She is sometimes referred to as the The Queen or the Wicked Queen. Comics occasionally call her Queen Grimhilde, while theme parks refer to her as the Snow Queen. The Witch is sometimes referred to as the Old Hag or the Peddler. =Film and Television Appearances= ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' Discovering Snow White's Beauty The Queen, jealous of her stepdaughter Snow White's beauty, forces her to work as a servant in her castle; even in rags, however, Snow White's beauty shines through, causing the Queen to worry that Snow White's beauty may one day surpass her own. She has such vanity that she consults her Magic Mirror every day, ordering the slave within to reveal the name of the fairest in the land. Every day the spirit says that the Queen is the fairest, and she is content, until the mirror informs her that Snow White has finally become the fairest in the land. Outside, as Snow White works, she sings to herself, attracting the attention of the Prince, who is passing by, and they are instantly infatuated with each other. The Queen watches from her window, unseen by the two lovers, and, jealous both of Snow White's beauty and the Prince's affections, closes the curtains furiously. The Huntsman's Orders Summoning her faithful Huntsman to her, the Queen orders him to take Snow White far into a secluded area of the forest, where she can pick wild flowers, and kill her. She presents him with a box, in which Snow White's heart must be brought as proof. The Huntsman is reluctant to carry out such a deed, but, knowing the penalty for failure, takes Snow White deep into the forest. Just as he is about to stab the princess, he finds that he cannot bring himself to destroy such beauty and, frantically warning Snow White of the Queen's vanity and jealousy, tells her to flee into the forest. He returns to the Queen, bringing in the box the heart of a pig. Meanwhile, Snow White finds the Cottage of the Seven Dwarfs, and is found by the dwarfs, whom she tells of the Queen's attempts to kill her. They are fearful of the dark magic of the Queen, not least because, Grumpy, not keen on having a woman around the house, refers to her as an "old' witch" and suggests that she may have discovered them already, have made herself invisible, and be watching them right now. They nevertheless take pity and agree to take her in (though Grumpy is reluctant to do so, fearing the Queen's power, as well as being a self-proclaimed woman-hater). Transformation into the Witch That night the Queen once again consults the slave in the Magic Mirror, who tells her that Snow White is living in the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs and that the Huntsman has brought her a pig's heart. Furious, the Queen descends a spiral staircase, entering a dark chamber filled with arcane and magical artifacts, as well as a raven perched on a skull. The Queen decides to go to the cottage herself, disguised as a peddler. Consulting a potions book on disguises, she mixes the required potion ingredients and drinks it, transforming into the Witch. She then decides to dispose of Snow White with a Poisoned Apple, which will send its victim into the Sleeping Death. The Sleeping Death The Witch brews the poison and dips an apple into the brew, turning the fruit a tempting red. She reads that the victim of the poison can be revived by 'Love's First Kiss', but convinces herself that the Dwarfs will bury the poisoned Snow White. Cackling to herself, she puts the apple in a basket, and walks down through the dungeon below, emerging from the castle's catacombs in a raft. As she makes her way to the dwarfs' cottage, two sinister vultures see her and, sensing that death is imminent, quietly pursue her. Defeat She reaches the cottage and, according to plan, finds that the Dwarfs have left and Snow White is alone. Catching the girl by surprise, the Witch offers her the apple, but is attacked by the animals of the forest (who sense danger when they notice the two vultures). Snow White does not recognize any danger in the old woman and lets her into the house to offer her a drink of water, while the animals rush to find the Dwarfs. The Witch tells Snow White that the apple will grant wishes, and, knowing of Snow White's romance with the Prince, persuades her to wish for a happy reunion before taking a bite. Snow White falls to the floor, taken by the Sleeping Death, and the Witch cackles with glee as a storm starts outside. The dwarfs arrive in time to see her leave and, led by Grumpy, chase her up a mountain and corner her on a cliff. She attempts to crush them with a huge rock, but lightning strikes the cliff, causing her to fall to her doom. The dwarfs watch as the vultures fly down to her body at the bottom of the cliff. Category: Classics Category: Witches Category: Monarchs Category: Disney's Halloween segments The Legend of Sleepy Hollow